Maharashtra batter Ankit Bawne missed Ranji Trophy match against Baroda in Nashik after being handed a one-match suspension for dissent during the match against Services. Bawne refused to leave the field after being given out even though there appeared to be conclusive evidence that the ball had bounced before Shubham Rohilla completed the catch at slip off left-arm spinner Amit Shukla.
The right-handed batter, couldn't opt for a review as the match was only on a live stream and not televised, which meant there was no DRS to be in place. His refusal to leave the field led to play being halted for nearly 15 minutes before the game resumed upon the intervention of match referee Amit Sharma and Maharashtra coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.
ANKIT BAWNE GETS ONE-MATCH BAN IN RANJI TROPHY..!!!
— DEEP SINGH (@CrazyCricDeep) January 23, 2025
Maharashtra’s Ankit Bawne has been handed a one-match suspension for dissent after refusing to leave the field following his dismissal against Services.#RanjiTrophy #Maharashtra #AnkitBawne #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/PfyIZUIET6
At the time, Maharashtra's regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, too, had posted replays of the dismissal. Gaikwad was playing for India A in Australia at the time. Coach Kulkarni had also raised questions on standard of umpiring in domestic matches.
Bawne has been Maharashtra's leading run-scorer this season, with 361 runs from five matches at an average of 51.57. He has scored one century and two fifties.
Will Maharashtra qualify for knockouts despite Bawne's suspension?
Maharashtra are second from bottom in Group A and are already out of the reckoning for a playoff berth as they can reach a maximum of 22 points. As things stand, there are already two teams in the pool - Baroda and J&K - with more points.
At Lunch Maharastra were 101/3 after Baroda skipper Krunbal Pandya decided to field first after winning the toss. Skipper Ruturak Gaikwas was dismissed for just 10 runs.